Jason Chaffetz will not seek reelection in 2018

In what I can only explain as a surprising turn of events House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz has announced he will not seek reelection in 2018. Here is more:

House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said Wednesday he will not run for reelection next year, ending a fast-rising political career, at least for now.

“After long consultation with my family and prayerful consideration, I have decided I will not be a candidate for any office in 2018,” he wrote on Facebook. “I have made a personal decision to return to the private sector.”

He is saying that he does not believe politics should be a career and that is why he is stepping away…for now:

“I have long advocated public service should be for a limited time and not a lifetime or full career,” he wrote. “After more than 1,500 nights away from my home, it is time. I may run again for public office, but not in 2018.”

Asked whether he would run for governor in 2020 in an interview with Utah’s KSL Newsradio, Chaffetz said, “Maybe,” adding, “I’m not trying to close the door or open the door to anything in the future… a couple years from now you can make that decision.”

If this is the real reason why he is stepping away then I applaud him for holding true to his convictions and for putting his family above power but still part of me wonders if there is more to this story than we are being told at this time. The one thing I believe I can state with certainty is this: the left will claim this is a referendum on Donald Trump.

Actually, no. I share your admiration for this fellow and wish him all the best. Even if that includes another elected office in the future.

In an interview today, he described his conversation with Speaker Ryan, and said the Speaker asked him not to. Chaffetz pointed out that he wasn’t asking permission, but advising the Speaker of a decision he’d reached with his family.

Yeah, I’d be disappointed if he stayed on in Washington as a lobbyist after a sincere statement about wanting to spend more time with his family. Remember, though, he’s from Utah (and I presume a Mormon), and they’re very strong on family and all that entails, a position I admire and try hard to emulate.

“In just two days, [Dr. Kathie ] Allen raised about $200,000 in her campaign to unseat the GOP congressman. As of Wednesday, more than $500,000 had been donated to her Crowdpac fundraising page, with more than 14,000 individual donations, including from former television talk-show host Rosie O’Donnell. In the first three months of 2017, Allen brought in roughly $400,000 more than Chaffetz, out-raising her opponent by more than 3 to 1, The Salt Lake Tribune reported this week. ”